Yatseniuk: 122 protesters released but 116 more still in jail. 122 persons arrested for their participation in the Euromaidan protests were released from prison but 116 more are still kept behind the bars, said Arseniy Yatseniuk, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian opposition. “Our task is to free them all,” he said, adding that the EU also demands to release Yulia Tymoshenko, former Ukraine’s Prime Minister. He added that the opposition will demand full “reloading” of power in Ukraine and resignation of president Yanukovych.

Obama called to reshape Ukraine’s government. During his internet conference with the American citizens, US president Barack Obama said that “there should the way of reshaping Ukraine’s government” which will create room for “setting up a legitimate government.”

PoR MP called to hold early presidential election. Vitaliy Hrushevskyi, MP from the ruling Party of the Regions, spoke to the people on Maidan today saying that Ukraine “has to prepare itself to the presidential election”. Although it was reported that Hrushevsky left the Party, the MP denied these reports.

Journalist: Yanukovych faces increasing opposition within his own party. Mustafa Nayem, one of the leading Ukrainian journalists, argues in his article printed in Ukrainska Pravda that president Yanukovych faces increasing opposition within his own party. Oligarchs Rinat Akhmetov and Dmytro Firtash were facing difficulties with their bank accounts in the West recently, and therefore called president to take a more moderate position. MPs loyal to these businessmen (40 of MPs close to Akhmetov and 38 of those close to Firtash) can put the integrity of the Party at risk, the journalist says. Moscow calls to disperse the protests and to set up a new government able to control spending of Kremlin’s loans and keep Ukraine under Russian influence. In this situation Yanukovych is facing increasing pressure from the streets, from foreign powers and within his own party, Nayem says.

Weekly newspaper criticized Europe’s indecisiveness. Tetyana Sylina, journalist at Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, a Ukrainian weekly, criticized the EU for its indecisive position over the Ukrainian crisis. The paper regrets that Brussels reacts to Ukrainian situation carefully and slowly, without taking decisive action. EU’s repeated statements that the Association Agreement is “still on the table” are outdated as Yanukovych has already “turned his back” to this table and Maidan is focusing more on other urgent issues. Although Ukrainians won’t reject their European dream, they still expect that Europe moves from its “deep concern” to real support of the fundamental values in Ukraine. The EU also has to understand that it bears part of the guilt for the events taking place today in Ukraine: it made a number of mistakes on the Ukrainian issue, including its unwillingness to open a more clear EU membership perspective of the 2004 Orange revolution, the journalist says.

Appeal court trial over detained activist to be held on Feb 5. Appeal court trial over detained activist Olexander Kravtsov will be conducted on February 5, at 12.20, 2-A Solomianska str. (http://goo.gl/maps/6drz4). Kravtsov was detained, beaten and tortured by Berkut (police special unit) but faces charges for attacking Berkut officers. Find more details in an article written by his wife, Olesia Mamchych.

Court rejects Bulatov’s arrest. Shevchenkivskyi district court in Kyiv rejected investigators’ request to arrest Dmytro Bulatov, a leader of Automaidan (drivers’ wing of Euromaidan). Bulatov was kidnapped a week ago and was found severely beaten last Friday. Petro Poroshenko, one of the opposition leaders, said that court decision sets Bulatov free to go abroad for a medical treatment. Ukrainska pravda

Ashton and Nuland to visit Ukraine next week. Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative, and Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State at US State Department, said they would visit Kyiv next week. Nuland mentioned measures jointly planned by the US and EU in “close contact with the representatives of civil society and constructively-minded representatives of the Ukrainian authorities”.

EU foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Ukraine on Feb 10. The Council of the EU foreign ministers will discuss the Ukrainian situation on its next sitting on February 10th, said Hryhoriy Nemyria, deputy head of the Batkivshchyna party, after his meeting with Sweden’s foreign minister Karl Bildt. According to Nemyria, the ministers will also discuss possible sanctions as “one of the policy elements.” Bildt also says that a lot of work is going on behind the scenes, as the EU is trying to explain possible consequences to authorities, opposition and oligarchs if the situation aggravates.

Yanukovych will get back to work on Monday. President Yanukovych will get back to work on Monday after a “sharp respiratory sickness.” His press service reports about the “satisfying state of health” of Yanukovych.

International commission to investigate crimes against Ukrainian people, Poroshenko says. Petro Poroshenko, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian opposition, called to set up an international commission which will investigate cruelties over the Ukrainian people. As he said, both the Ukrainian opposition and the Council of Europe have appointed their representatives to this commission.

Article by: Mariana Budjeryn By now, it is a well-known story: in the early 1990s, Ukraine surrendered the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union in exchange for security assurances from nuclear...